Shark Tale

"Behind every little fish is a great white lie."

2004 1h 30m EN

😐

6.0

MID

★6.0TMDB · 6,858

AnimationActionComedyFamily

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Oscar is a small fish whose big aspirations often get him into trouble. Meanwhile, Lenny is a great white shark with a surprising secret that no sea creature would guess: He's a vegetarian. When a lie turns Oscar into an improbable hero and Lenny becomes an outcast, the two form an unlikely friendship.

“Behind every little fish is a great white lie.”

WhatsApp X Facebook Telegram

Where to watch · US

NetflixSubscription

Netflix Standard with AdsSubscription

Amazon VideoRent

Apple TV StoreRent

Google Play MoviesRent

Google Play MoviesBuy

YouTubeBuy

Fandango At HomeBuy

Cast

Will Smith
Oscar (voice)
Robert De Niro
Don Lino (voice)
Renée Zellweger
Angie (voice)
Jack Black
Lenny (voice)
Angelina Jolie
Lola (voice)
Ziggy Marley
Ernie (voice)
Martin Scorsese
Sykes (voice)
David P. Smith
Crazy Joe (voice)

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Vicky Jenson
Writers: Rob Letterman, Michael J. Wilson, David Soren
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

90 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Mid-budget at $75M — the now-extinct middle tier of Hollywood.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Made its money back 4.9× over at the box office.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 22 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Vicky Jenson, shot by Gil Zimmerman. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Hans Zimmer. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor John Venzon shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Will Smith and Robert De Niro and Renée Zellweger carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Vicky Jenson directs. Gil Zimmerman behind the camera. Hans Zimmer scores. John Venzon cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

190 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.
2Mid-budget at $75M — the now-extinct middle tier of Hollywood.
3Made its money back 4.9× over at the box office.
4Released 22 years ago.
5Directed by Vicky Jenson, shot by Gil Zimmerman. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
6Original score by Hans Zimmer. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
7Editor John Venzon shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
8Will Smith and Robert De Niro and Renée Zellweger carry the top of the cast.
9Marketing tagline: "Behind every little fish is a great white lie.".
10IMDB entry: tt0307453 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
11Classified under 10 themes, including "fish", "secret love", "hero", "mission of murder".
12Released under 11 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Gil Zimmerman
Original score: Hans Zimmer
Editing: John Venzon
Production design: Dan St. Pierre
VFX supervisor: Doug Cooper
Sound: Wade Wilson
Runtime: 90 min · 1h 30m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $75,000,000
Box office: $367,300,000
Return: 490% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): PG
IMDB: Shark Tale (2004)

Also by

Vicky Jenson

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

Full-resolution frames — open one to save it as a wallpaper.

Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2026-07-20
★ 6/10
Oh, if only Robert Shaw had still be around to add a bit of menace to this. Instead, we rely on Robert De Niro as the gangster fish whose son is found dead in suspicious circumstances. Local plodder - if fish can actually plod - "Oscar" happens upon the corpse and sees an opportunity to claim that he was the brave killer - codenamed "Sharkslayer", and that he is a natural ally of those opposed to the rule of "Don Lino". The enemy of my enemy being my friend sort of thing. Thing is, poor old "Oscar" really isn't cut out for life amongst the big fishes, and his new friendship with "Lenny" - the timid and friendly brother of his supposed victim soon has this loud-mouthed critter starting to regret his bravado. There isn't really much new to this rather clunky animated feature, but that said it's relocation of an hierarchical world to under the waves, and the crafting of a mobster culture that provides us (adults) with a little more meat on it's comical bones does keep it moving along quite entertainingly, arousing the odd giggle from the very plentiful dialogue and the visuals as we swim along. My own favourites have to be the rasta jellyfish, but the hapless puffer fish is a fun character too and this presents us with an effortless to watch ninety minutes with a tiny splash of "Jaws" and a lively re-imagining of "Car Wash" - Missy Elliott style thrown in too. Nobody's best, but it's fine.

Production companies